EMU makes transferring smoother for Schoolcraft Community College students

YPSILANTI - With the stroke of a pen, transferring to Eastern Michigan University from Schoolcraft Community College (SCC) will become easier. The two educational institutions are joining forces with an articulation agreement to ease the transfer process for students entering EMU’s College of Business (COB). A signing ceremony occurred Oct. 18 at EMU’s Livonia campus.

“We are recognizing the quality of their faculty and courses,” said David Mielke, dean of EMU’s College of Business. “They have the same high standards as Eastern.”

The agreement, which applies to any major in the College of Business, is a formal guide that guarantees specific courses from SCC will transfer to EMU and meet requirements for entering the COB.

“We are providing a service to students,” Mielke said, explaining that the agreement would eliminate students running all over campus to get approvals in order to transfer a class or meet a specific requirement.

“Also, students transferring in the middle of a course sequence, such as accounting, will not be at a disadvantage. The quality of the course content and the rigor will be the same (as EMU),” he said.

“The community college system is just bursting at the seams and many of those students are in transfer programs,” said Mielke, who estimates that about half of the students in the College of Business are community college transfers. “We want to forge a stronger relationship with them and attract their students to our business program.”

“This new business articulation (agreement) between Schoolcraft College and EMU is definitely a three-win opportunity. Schoolcraft, Eastern Michigan University and our students will benefit from this partnership. It creates a direct transfer path from the community college to the university,” said Donna Nordman, director of counseling and career services, Schoolcraft College.

This agreement accepts the entire SCC marketing and applied management, and general business programs. SCC transfer students won’t lose credits since the agreement waives the 64- credit limit and accepts up to 87 credits, said Pat Cygnar, director of EMU Community College Relations and developer of articulation agreements.

“Specialized courses, such as advertising, need an articulation agreement, which we put together to maximized the number of elective credits transferred,” said Cygnar. “We want to capitalize on that population and make it smoother for their students to transfer here. We’re tapping into a great pool of students.”

“In 2003-2004, 318 Schoolcraft Community College students came to EMU. SCC ranks second only to Washtenaw Community College in the number of students transferring to our campus,” said Cygnar, who pointed out that transfer students make up more than 50 percent of EMU’s undergraduate student body.

EMU currently has 58 articulation agreements with community colleges.

Eastern Michigan University is a public, comprehensive, metropolitan university that offers programs in the arts, sciences and professions. EMU prepares students with the intellectual skills and practical experiences to succeed in their careers and lives, and to be better citizens.

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Eastern Michigan University is a public, comprehensive
university that offers programs in the arts, sciences and professions.
EMU prepares students with the intellectual skills and practical experiences
to succeed in their career and lives, and to be better citizens.